Fox, Dominion face off over false claims
April 17 trial could potentially redefine libel law in US
WILMINGTON, Del. — Fox News and a voting machine company that claims the conservative network defamed it by amplifying baseless allegations of fraud following the 2020 presidential election faced off in a courtroom Tuesday during a key hearing over whether journalists have a responsibility to be cautious with explosive and implausible allegations.
Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems argued that Fox recklessly repeated false accusations from supporters of former President Donald Trump that its machines and the software used were responsible for Trump’s 2020 election loss. Documents released during the lawsuit have shown that top Fox executives and personalities didn’t believe the claims but aired them anyway.
“There was a deliberate decision by those responsible for the broadcasts … to let the story be out there,” Dominion attorney Rodney Smolla said, adding that Fox News was desperate to win back viewers infuriated that the network had correctly called Arizona, a key battleground state, on election night for Joe Biden. “What they did to get viewers back was start this new narrative that the election had been stolen and that Dominion was the thief.”
But Fox contended it was simply reporting on newsworthy allegations — a sitting president’s claim that the election was being stolen from him.
“We never reported those to be true,” Fox lawyer Erin Murphy said. “All we ever did was provide viewers the true fact that these were allegations that were being made.”
The arguments, which are scheduled to continue Wednesday, came during a summary judgment hearing as both sides in the case asked Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis to find in their favor ahead of an April 17 trial date. It’s unclear when Davis might issue a ruling.
Davis told lawyers for both sides he hasn’t made up his mind.
“I need to be educated,” the judge said as the hearing began. “I haven’t predecided this.”
The hearing followed the filing of a separate lawsuit Monday by Fox News producer Abby Grossberg claiming that the network pressured her to give misleading testimony during her deposition in the Dominion case.
A producer on Fox’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” show who previously worked for Maria Bartiromo’s show, Grossberg contends that Fox attorneys advised her against hiring a personal attorney for the case and implied that she should not be “too candid” in her depositions.
“Ms. Grossberg convinced herself that discretion would be the better part of valor in this instance, and decided she would follow the directions of the attorneys who claimed they represented her best interests in connection with her deposition and kept her truth to herself,” Grossberg’s lawsuit contends.
Fox countered with its own lawsuit, trying to bar Grossberg from disclosing confidential discussions with attorneys.
Tuesday’s hearing was perhaps the most significant court action to date in a lawsuit that already has embarrassed Fox by revealing its personalities’ private disdain for Trump and illustrating how political pressures can inform its coverage. The case also holds the potential for redefining libel law in the U.S.